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My return to PC gaming!

taydan04
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Hello all! This will be first my first post on here so it's nice to meet you all! Or... I'm... Sure it will be? Anyway, I thought what better for a first post than my plans to rejoin the PC gaming community! It's been a long time coming.

 

Essentially due to long winded employment problems that I won't bore you guys going in to I ended up having to sell off my old PC as parts back in 2014 to keep myself afloat. I had a GTX680 on an Asus P7P55D-LE running an i5-750 with a 4GHZ overclock under a Noctua NH-D14. As well as 4GB of GIEL DDR3-1600. All of this housed in a Fractal Design Arc Midi. I really loved this machine. Not exactly a monster by today's standards but it was my baby! Haha.

 

I have been a PS4 gamer pretty much since then. My intention has always been to return to the PC gaming work I have missed so much. And I think, now I am back in stable employment, this may be the year!

 

I have always been super interested in planning out a build with the theme of as much power in as small a place as possible. IV looked around allot and been researching quite a few mini-ITX cases and built my friend a GTX780/haswell based machine in a BitFenix Prodigy. It was a really interesting case to build in but let's face it, it's not a particularly small ITX case. No smaller really than a Micro-ATX case. Emphasised by the fact you can get a micro-ATX version. So the search went on.

 

The next stop was the Silverstone Raven RV-Z02 which size wise was exactly what I was looking for. The issue being that aesthetically, I'm really not a fan. So yet again, the search went on.

 

After a few other stops, my search bought me to an LMG review of the Fractal Design Node 202 followed by Jayztwocence' build video in it. And it was love at first site. I addore how clean it looks, the tappering of all the edges and the subtelty of the gloss allong the bottom.

 

38a.jpg

 

From the moment I saw it the planning began. I knew from the get-go that with no air flow to speak of in the case out of the box that cooling would be an issue. So to start, I will be populating the 2 120mm filtered fan slots in the GPU bay with Noctua NF-P12 PWM fans in an intake orientation. You may wonder why not the redux or the F12. Well my logic is that the P12 is a happy medium, a compromise, it has more airflow than the F12 while maintaining a higher pressure than the redux so I should end up with plenty of cool air being pumped in to the case while maintaining a positive pressure as this will be the only means of airflow in the case. And should be sufficient to keep the GPU cool, which for now we will assume is a 980ti. This is subject to change when we see what Polaris and Pascal have to offer.

 

Now, the other primary hotzone. After some research and finding a way to best utilise the 56mm of clearence available in the case I have settled on a sort of mix and match CPU cooler. It will be a Noctua NH-L9i, a 37mm high cooler out of the box. I will then ditch the NF-A9x14 slim-profile fan, leaving 23mm of heatsink, for an NF-A9 PWM which will bring the height of the cooler up to 48mm while providing a higher pressure and airflow rating and being closer to the filtered intake in the top of the case. Hopefully this means the i7 6700K will be able to get fresh air from directly outside the case. Why the K I hear you ask? It's not like I'll be doing any overclocking in this case. Well my logic is the 6700K not only comes with a higher clock speed out of the box than the 6700 but will have been speed-binned to do this so should be doing so more efficiently. And who knows. This machine could end up in a different case at some point where I could stick a H100 on it.

 

What I am hoping to achieve here is a 4K capable gaming machine that is only slightly larger than an X-Bone. 

 

Any feedback you guys have or if you just wanna say hi, I'd love to hear from you. I'll include a PC Part picker list bellow for the full part list.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£288.32 @ Aria PC) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  (£31.98 @ Ebuyer) 
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£191.65 @ More Computers) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  (£71.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£227.90 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked Video Card  (£564.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  (£68.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Power Supply: Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  (£75.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12 PWM 120mm  Fan  (£14.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12 PWM 120mm  Fan  (£14.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A9 PWM 46.4 CFM 92mm  Fan 
Monitor: LG 27MU67 60Hz 27.0" Monitor  (£359.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Chroma Wired Optical Mouse  (£54.41 @ Aria PC) 
Other: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2016 (£99.95)
Total: £2066.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-16 16:33 BST+0100

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If this is for gaming only, its overkill. You dont need i7 with overpriced MBO and 1tb SSD.

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3 minutes ago, chiwas said:

If this is for gaming only, its overkill. You dont need i7 with overpriced MBO and 1tb SSD.

Asus MOBOs are always worth it, the i7 WILL be useful at 4K, and 1TB for ALL DEM GAMES (rekt)

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3 minutes ago, ChickenNugget said:

Asus MOBOs are always worth it, the i7 WILL be useful at 4K, and 1TB for ALL DEM GAMES (rekt)

This pretty much. The i7 is probably overkill but the price differences, in the UK atleast, mean that the 6700k just makes the most sense. As for the SSD I see 1TB of storage as relatively moderate and with the prices of SSD's these days it just doesn't make sense to me to include a 2.5 inch HDD in the built just being slow and producing more heat.

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If you really want a capable 4K gaming machine I'd wait for the incoming Pascal/Polaris GPU's. A single 980Ti (especially one crammed in a small case that will probably thermal throttle like a bitch) isn't going to really get you as far as you'd like for 4K. It really does depend on what games you're playing, but anything pretty graphically intensive is going to require backing down quality settings to keep ~60fps.

 

Check Kyle's AIO CPU cooler video below if you're really concerned about lowering CPU temps in the Node 202. A hybrid GPU with a 120mm AIO cooler would probably be more beneficial for you though, and easier to run the tubes to that fan slot, than the CPU AIO.

 

Spoiler

https://gaming.youtube.com/watch?v=5RBi7wObZM4

 

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14 minutes ago, taydan04 said:

Hello all! This will be first my first post on here so it's nice to meet you all! Or... I'm... Sure it will be? Anyway, I thought what better for a first post than my plans to rejoin the PC gaming community! It's been a long time coming.

 

Essentially due to long winded employment problems that I won't bore you guys going in to I ended up having to sell off my old PC as parts back in 2014 to keep myself afloat. I had a GTX680 on an Asus P7P55D-LE running an i5-750 with a 4GHZ overclock under a Noctua NH-D14. As well as 4GB of GIEL DDR3-1600. All of this housed in a Fractal Design Arc Midi. I really loved this machine. Not exactly a monster by today's standards but it was my baby! Haha.

 

I have been a PS4 gamer pretty much since then. My intention has always been to return to the PC gaming work I have missed so much. And I think, now I am back in stable employment, this may be the year!

 

I have always been super interested in planning out a build with the theme of as much power in as small a place as possible. IV looked around allot and been researching quite a few mini-ITX cases and built my friend a GTX780/haswell based machine in a BitFenix Prodigy. It was a really interesting case to build in but let's face it, it's not a particularly small ITX case. No smaller really than a Micro-ATX case. Emphasised by the fact you can get a micro-ATX version. So the search went on.

 

The next stop was the Silverstone Raven RV-Z02 which size wise was exactly what I was looking for. The issue being that aesthetically, I'm really not a fan. So yet again, the search went on.

 

After a few other stops, my search bought me to an LMG review of the Fractal Design Node 202 followed by Jayztwocence' build video in it. And it was love at first site. I addore how clean it looks, the tappering of all the edges and the subtelty of the gloss allong the bottom.

 

38a.jpg

 

From the moment I saw it the planning began. I knew from the get-go that with no air flow to speak of in the case out of the box that cooling would be an issue. So to start, I will be populating the 2 120mm filtered fan slots in the GPU bay with Noctua NF-P12 PWM fans in an intake orientation. You may wonder why not the redux or the F12. Well my logic is that the P12 is a happy medium, a compromise, it has more airflow than the F12 while maintaining a higher pressure than the redux so I should end up with plenty of cool air being pumped in to the case while maintaining a positive pressure as this will be the only means of airflow in the case. And should be sufficient to keep the GPU cool, which for now we will assume is a 980ti. This is subject to change when we see what Polaris and Pascal have to offer.

 

Now, the other primary hotzone. After some research and finding a way to best utilise the 56mm of clearence available in the case I have settled on a sort of mix and match CPU cooler. It will be a Noctua NH-L9i, a 37mm high cooler out of the box. I will then ditch the NF-A9x14 slim-profile fan, leaving 23mm of heatsink, for an NF-A9 PWM which will bring the height of the cooler up to 48mm while providing a higher pressure and airflow rating and being closer to the filtered intake in the top of the case. Hopefully this means the i7 6700K will be able to get fresh air from directly outside the case. Why the K I hear you ask? It's not like I'll be doing any overclocking in this case. Well my logic is the 6700K not only comes with a higher clock speed out of the box than the 6700 but will have been speed-binned to do this so should be doing so more efficiently. And who knows. This machine could end up in a different case at some point where I could stick a H100 on it.

 

What I am hoping to achieve here is a 4K capable gaming machine that is only slightly larger than an X-Bone. 

 

Any feedback you guys have or if you just wanna say hi, I'd love to hear from you. I'll include a PC Part picker list bellow for the full part list.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£288.32 @ Aria PC) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  (£31.98 @ Ebuyer) 
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£191.65 @ More Computers) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  (£71.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£227.90 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked Video Card  (£564.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  (£68.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Power Supply: Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  (£75.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12 PWM 120mm  Fan  (£14.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12 PWM 120mm  Fan  (£14.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A9 PWM 46.4 CFM 92mm  Fan 
Monitor: LG 27MU67 60Hz 27.0" Monitor  (£359.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Chroma Wired Optical Mouse  (£54.41 @ Aria PC) 
Other: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2016 (£99.95)
Total: £2066.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-16 16:33 BST+0100

Since I am a mouse and keyboard addict, i strongly believe tha you should not buy anything from razer. Since the blackwidow does not have high quality key switches. As a better alternative, chose a keyboard from corsair. A k70, a k65, one of the strafe keyboards, or something like that. 

Project "Transcend": i7 7700k-R9 380 4GB by MSi, Z170-HD3P

 

 

My Steam Profile (from SteamDB)

 

  • Worth: $453 ($123 with sales)
  • Games owned: 76
  • Games not played: 40 (53%)
  • Hours on record: 667.0h

 

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£288.32 @ Aria PC) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  (£31.98 @ Ebuyer) 
Motherboard: Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£128.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  (£55.98 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£227.90 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card  (£509.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  (£68.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Power Supply: Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  (£75.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12 PWM 120mm  Fan  (£14.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12 PWM 120mm  Fan  (£14.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A9 PWM 46.4 CFM 92mm  Fan 
Monitor: LG 27MU67 60Hz 27.0" Monitor  (£359.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB UK Wired Gaming Keyboard  (£109.98 @ Ebuyer) 
Mouse: Logitech G502 Wired Optical Mouse  (£59.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Total: £1948.08
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-16 16:59 BST+0100

 

 

 

 

I found some better deals, and changed out the mouse/keyboard for much better ones.

Woo!

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11 minutes ago, Omon_Ra said:

If you really want a capable 4K gaming machine I'd wait for the incoming Pascal/Polaris GPU's. A single 980Ti (especially one crammed in a small case that will probably thermal throttle like a bitch) isn't going to really get you as far as you'd like for 4K. It really does depend on what games you're playing, but anything pretty graphically intensive is going to require backing down quality settings to keep ~60fps.

 

Check Kyle's AIO CPU cooler video below if you're really concerned about lowering CPU temps in the Node 202. A hybrid GPU with a 120mm AIO cooler would probably be more beneficial for you though, and easier to run the tubes to that fan slot, than the CPU AIO.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

https://gaming.youtube.com/watch?v=5RBi7wObZM4

 

Yeah I will be totally waiting on Polaris and Pascal, the Ti is more of a place holder for the total cost. I have done some research in to the Tis airflow which should be fine at stock speeds with the intake fans underneath it assisting it in getting fresh air.

 

13 minutes ago, slanensis said:

Since I am a mouse and keyboard addict, i strongly believe tha you should not buy anything from razer. Since the blackwidow does not have high quality key switches. As a better alternative, chose a keyboard from corsair. A k70, a k65, one of the strafe keyboards, or something like that. 

The options there were again for mostly aesthetic purposes and that I was a big fan of the Razer Imperator I used previously. I like Corsair's peripherals and are options I am considering as well.

 

10 minutes ago, Wiflare said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£288.32 @ Aria PC) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  (£31.98 @ Ebuyer) 
Motherboard: Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£128.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  (£55.98 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£227.90 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card  (£509.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  (£68.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Power Supply: Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  (£75.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12 PWM 120mm  Fan  (£14.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12 PWM 120mm  Fan  (£14.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A9 PWM 46.4 CFM 92mm  Fan 
Monitor: LG 27MU67 60Hz 27.0" Monitor  (£359.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB UK Wired Gaming Keyboard  (£109.98 @ Ebuyer) 
Mouse: Logitech G502 Wired Optical Mouse  (£59.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Total: £1948.08
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-16 16:59 BST+0100

 

 

 

 

I found some better deals, and changed out the mouse/keyboard for much better ones.

It was quite a long decision I made between the Impact and the Pro gaming motherboards. I settled for the Impact due to Skylake's dependency on the motherboard for power regulation which is a little beefier on the Impact. The slightly better audio performance is a factor for me as well as, if avoidable, I would prefer to not to use an external USB sound interface. As mentioned above I do like Corsair's peripherals and that Logitech mouse looks really nice! If I were to switch to a Corsair's keyboard though I'd be tempted to get a matching set for the mouse too though.

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How about this as a possible set of periferals. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB UK Wired Gaming Keyboard  (£120.66 @ Amazon UK) 
Mouse: Corsair SABRE RGB Wired Laser Mouse  (£37.99) 
Total: £158.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-16 17:27 BST+0100

 

But with the lower price for the K70 that wiflare found above.

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